Instagram Polls: Increased Audience Engagement

Do it for fun Instagram engagement or for informal research to gain specific audience insight. Instagram polls allow you to interact directly with your followers and get to know them in a more personal, albeit particular, way. You can ask anything, as long as your question is a simple yes-or-no one or offers several options for answers. How do Instagram polls work, and what are their advantages for brands? Here’s your complete guide to polling your followers on Instagram.

The 411 on Polls on Instagram

Instagram polls were introduced in Stories in late 2017, and unlike countless IG features that have come and gone, polls are here to stay. In 2018, the platform added the emoji slider as another option to poll followers. You can also do a poll using the poll or emoji slider sticker in a regular feed post or Reels.

A poll lets you ask any yes-or-no or this-or-that question. You may need help deciding between two outfits for a date. You may want to find out if your customers like the new item on your menu. Instagram polls are a fun and innovative way to get other people’s input about almost anything!

You can choose the poll sticker if you’re looking for a straightforward answer to a straightforward question. On the other hand, the emoji slider sticker adds “a layer of emotional context that helps those answering understand your tone and answer accordingly.” This is because you can select the emoji you want to use for your question. Your friends/followers who want to answer your question will slide the emoji to indicate their feelings or degree of “agreement” with your question.

How to Do a Poll on Instagram

You can create Instagram polls using the poll sticker or emoji slider in Stories, Reels, and regular feed posts. It’s pretty straightforward; the harder part is coming up with an interesting question that your followers won’t be able to resist. Remember that the poll and emoji slider stickers are only available when using the Instagram app.

How to Do Instagram Polls in Stories

Just follow these steps to start Instagram polls in your stories:

1. Open Instagram, tap your profile icon, or swipe right to create a story.
2. You can either immediately tap “Create” and then tap the sticker icon or upload a photo or short video and select the sticker icon among the options.
3. When you tap the sticker icon, new options will appear. Select the poll sticker or emoji slider.
4. For the poll sticker, type your question, and then type the answers that your followers will choose from. You can add up to 4 options.
5. For the emoji slider, type your question and select the emoji most suitable to your question’s mood.
6. Tap “Done.”
7. Edit your story any way you like. You can also choose a specific audience for your poll.
8. When satisfied, tap the arrow in the bottom right corner of the screen. You can also select how to share your poll and with whom.
9. Tap “Share.”

How to Do Instagram Polls in Reels

Here’s how to create Instagram polls for reels:

1. Open Instagram and then tap the create icon (plus sign in a box) in the upper right corner of the screen.
2. Select “Reel” among the options at the bottom.
3. Start creating a new video or upload a video or photo from your gallery.
4. You can add music to your reel. Tap “Add” in the upper right corner to add another video/image. Or immediately tap “Next.”
5. Tap the sticker icon. Select the poll sticker or emoji slider.
6. For the poll sticker, type a yes-or-no question.
7. For the emoji slider, type your question and select the emoji most suitable to your question’s mood.
8. Edit your clip any way you like.
9. When you’re satisfied, tap Tap “Next.” You can also select how to share your poll and with whom.
10. Tap “Share.”

How to Do Instagram Polls for a Feed Post

The Instagram poll and emoji slider stickers can now be used for regular feed posts, too! Here’s how:

1. Open Instagram and then tap the create icon (plus sign in a box) in the upper right corner of the screen.
2. Select “Post” among the options at the bottom.
3. Upload a video or photo from your gallery. You can also select multiple images to upload.
4. Tap the blue arrow in the upper right corner.
5. Tap the sticker icon. Select the poll sticker or emoji slider.
6. For the poll sticker, type a yes-or-no question.
7. For the emoji slider, type your question and select the emoji most suitable to your question’s mood.
8. Edit your video/image any way you like.
9. When you’re satisfied, tap Tap “Next.” You can also select how to share your poll and with whom.
10. Tap “Share.”

Instagram Poll Ideas

Here are 5 ideas for Instagram polls to help you get the ball rolling!

1. Promote the spirit of competition. Use Instagram polls to ask your followers to vote for their preference or favorite. Get creative with it! Create a collage with photos from which voters will choose. Use the poll sticker to ask your question and list the options. Or create a story series and add the emoji slider to each image/clip in the series. Don’t forget to update your followers about how the votes are going so far to keep them hyped! You can also integrate a poll into an Instagram contest!
2. Showcase your new products. Use the emoji slider to find out how much your followers and customers like (or dislike) new products.
3. Conduct informal market research. For example, if you own a beauty brand, find out what lippie shade your followers love to wear for summer. Ask your followers to vote for their favorite color palette if you have a home and lifestyle business.
4. Highlight a featured product. Create a collage showing a bold-colored scarf paired with different outfits. Then start a poll to ask your followers which one they like best. Don’t forget to encourage your voters to get the scarf for their own unique ensemble!
5. Let your followers take the wheel. Use an Instagram poll to let your followers decide what product/service you should offer at a discounted price or which photo from a shoot you should use as your new profile pic!

Instagram Poll Questions

Need inspiration for some engaging Instagram poll questions? We got you covered! Check these out!

1. Which celebrity would be perfect as ?
2. Would you rather do/have ?
3. This or that? List two versions of the same thing, such as “Sunny-side up or scrambled eggs.”
4. If you could have a lifetime supply of one of our products, which one would you pick?
5. Which celebrity would you like to be stuck on an island with?
6. Which would you rather lose?
7. Which social media platform is your favorite?
8. How much do you love this product/service?
9. When do you spend the most time on Instagram? (Provide up to 4 times to choose from.)
10. Which do you prefer? 1. Chat; or 2. Phone call
11. Which fabric print should we use for our next creation? (Provide up to 4 options.)
12. How would you rate this product?
13. What do you use this product for? (Provide up to 4 options.)
14. If you won a gift certificate from us worth $1,000, which product would you buy? (Provide up to 4 options.)
15. Which exterior do you like for this house? (Provide up to 4 options.)
16. Which paint color would you use for this kitchen? (Provide up to 4 options.)
17. Who rocked this style better? (Provide up to 4 options.)
18. What bling goes best with this outfit? (Provide up to 4 options.)
19. Which restaurant should I visit next? (Provide up to 4 options.)
20. Which food should go? (Provide up to 4 options.)

How to See Poll Results on Instagram

Seeing the results of your Instagram polls is as important as raking in high engagement from your followers. You and your voters can see real-time poll results and determine which answer is leading or how the majority feels about the post. When your poll is over, here’s how you can see the final results for your Instagram polls in your Stories, Reels, or regular feed post.

1. For Stories, open the story with the poll. Swipe up or tap the “Seen by” option in the bottom left corner. You’ll find the option to share the results with your followers or a specific group on the details page of your poll. Remember that poll results in Stories also disappear after 24 hours.
2. For Reels and posts, open the reel/post with the poll. Tap the “View Results” button at the bottom.

When you share the results with a specific group or with all your followers, they can see how people voted and who voted for what.

Polling in Chats

You can also create Instagram polls in group chats with 3 or more participants. But first, you need to upgrade to Messenger features on Instagram. Just follow these steps:

1. Tap the messenger icon in the top right corner.
2. Select the group chat for which you want to create a poll or create a new group.
3. Tap the plus sign in the bottom right corner and select the stickers icon.
4. Tap “Poll” and type your question and answer options.
5. Tap “Create Poll.”

You can tap “View Poll” to add answer options or change your vote while the poll is active. Other participants in the group chat can do the same. To view your Instagram poll results:

1. Tap the messenger icon.
2. Select the right conversation thread where you sent the poll.
3. You’ll be able to see how the participants of the group chat voted directly below the poll.

Here’s another great idea! Add a poll sticker or emoji slider to a photo or video you want to send in a direct message. Open messenger and open an existing conversation or create a new one. Open the camera to take a photo or video and tap the sticker icon. Tap the poll or emoji slider sticker. Type your question, then tap “Done.” Tap “Send.”

There are a couple of things to keep in mind. First, you can’t add a poll or emoji slider to a photo or video uploaded from your gallery. And second, people in the chat can only vote by replying below the photo. They can’t vote by tapping on one of the poll sticker answers or dragging the emoji slider.

Instagram Poll Hack

Looking for an Instagram poll hack? A legit poll hack you can try is basic but fun: changing the color of your poll sticker or emoji slider background. You can do this by simply tapping on the color wheel above the poll you’re creating.

Another poll hack brands may be interested in is getting additional votes for Instagram polls. You can find many services online that offer this poll voting hack for a price. But the more important question you need to ask is: Should you do it?

Keep in mind that faking a boost in your Instagram numbers in any way goes against the platform’s guidelines. Your account can get suspended, and you’ll lose credibility among your followers.

If your Instagram polls are not getting as much engagement as you’d like, you can try other things to increase your reach and make your poll more appealing to your followers. Experiment with various posting times, for example.

Do this to determine the best time to post when your followers are most active. Make your polls rewarding to encourage more participation. Offer a prize, such as a free product or a discount coupon.

Of course, the more followers you have, the more people you’ll reach with your poll and the higher the engagement your poll will receive. At the end of the day, getting more followers genuinely interested in what you offer will deliver active engagement to all your posts without fail.

Reach More Followers With Polls

Instagram polls are a fun and effective way to heighten your followers’ interest, encourage them to engage with you, and remind them of your presence on the platform. But if you want to reach more followers with your polls to get more votes, engagement, and insight about your audience, you need to gain more followers first!

Creating amazing content for your Instagram brand may already take too much time. Finding ways to reach a wider audience and get additional followers is a task that’s most suitable for a social media expert. You can team up with an Instagram growth service company, like Path Social, that has the necessary know-how and experience to help you grow your brand the right way.

More than 20 thousand Instagram brands trust Path Social. Take advantage of their precise audience targeting capability, made possible by their proprietary AI targeting technology, to reach real users who are right for your brand. Path Social’s in-house social media specialists and their vast network of Instagram influencers will then do the hands-on work of organically promoting your content to your target audience.

With Path Social as your partner, you can expect lasting and meaningful organic growth! Start growing and gaining Instagram followers today!